A-10 Warthog possible future

[RedLegion]

And the grunts are absolutely loving it

Especially the British.

 

[andys]

A-10s are virtually obsolete. Any small/budget restricted nation wanting to refurbish it's air force these days should be looking at UAVs. Throw in a small number of turboprops for the times when you need something more than a UAV.

 

[EmoBirb]

One should ask who benefits the most from the constant lobby work for the A-10?

 

[F-2]

Find someone who loves you like Congress loves the A-10.

 

[Scott Kenny]

One should ask who benefits the most from the constant lobby work for the A-10?

Not a lot of people. IIRC their depot was at Hill AFB, so the congressional bodies from Utah have some strong opinions on it, but that's only 2 senators and 4 representatives.

 

[James1978]

One should ask who benefits the most from the constant lobby work for the A-10?

Any Representative and Senator whose district/state has a unit that flies A-10s, and by extension has a flying mission that isn't drones.

I suspect that if the F-35 program had delivered as promised and production delivered enough F-35 to replace those A-10s years ago, most of those Representatives and Senators wouldn't care about the A-10 so long as "their unit/their base" kept a flying mission. If they retired the A-10 without enough F-35s to replace them, a lot of those units, especially Guard/Reserve units, probably lose their flying mission. It's a prestige thing.

 

[RedLegion]

It really can be considered an irony of history how the USAF sabotaged US Army's independent aviation capabilities to such an extent that now they themselves are struggling to get rid of the A-10. Had they approved the AH-56, they could have gotten the supersonic YA-7F for strike missions instead.

 

[RAP]

T-bird Warthogs, LOL. From the archives of the Cradle of Aviation Museum.

 

[Scott Kenny]

T-bird Warthogs, LOL. From the archives of the Cradle of Aviation Museum.

I mean, the Warthog has a screamingly fast instantaneous turn rate.